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HomeNewsArchivesUVI NURSING PROGRAM RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD

UVI NURSING PROGRAM RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD

Dec. 3, 2001 – The University of the Virgin Islands’ Division of Nursing Education recently received top honors from two national nursing institutions for its geriatric nursing education program.
The UVI Bachelor of Science in Nursing program took second place in the 2001 Awards for Exceptional Baccalaureate Curriculum in Gerontologic Nursing, a prize sponsored by the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
The award recognized UVI’s program as a model nursing program with a focus on gerontological nursing that exhibited "exceptional, substantive and innovative baccalaureate curriculum in this subject area," according to the award announcement.
The UVI nursing program has more than 50 students enrolled. Last year, the St. Thomas campus graduated 13, including one male, and more than half of those graduates are working in the Virgin Islands, according to Antoinette Baptiste, administrative assistant.
St. Thomas has a four-year baccalaureate program; on St. Croix the program offers a two-year Associate of Science degree. Graduates of both programs are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN examination for licensure as a registered nurse, according to the UVI website.
A release from UVI quoted Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing director Mathy Mezey as saying: "We are delighted to reward and showcase nursing schools at the forefront of preparing students through outstanding geriatric curricula. The 2001 winners should be proud of their contributions to geriatric care which serve as shining examples for other schools to emulate."
"As the U.S. population continues to age, we need to insure that nurses in the educational pipeline are well educated to provide the highest quality of care possible to older adults," AACN president Carolyn Williams said. "We are delighted to join with the Hartford Insstitute in honoring curriculum leaders and sharing these winning models with the world."
The first place award went to the Medical College of the Georgia School of Nursing.
For more information on the nursing program at UVI, call UVI Nursing Education Division Chair Dr. Gloria Callwood at 693-1291.

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